Other similar cases

On Oct 8 last year, a baby girl was born on board a China Airlines flight from Bali to Los Angeles, after her Taiwanese mother unexpectedly went into labour.

The woman, known only as Jian, delivered above Alaska 30 minutes before the flight made an emergency landing at Alaska's Anchorage Airport.

Daily Mail Online reported that she had allegedly planned the delivery over US airspace, making the baby girl eligible for a US passport.

It was reported that she could face a fine of more than US$30,000 (S$42,000) - the cost of diverting the flight to another airport and affecting more than 200 passengers - if it is proven that she deliberately tried to give birth in the US.

MAY 2015

Canadian Ada Guan was two hours into an Air Canada flight from Calgary to Tokyo on May 10, last year, when she had severe stomach cramps.

A few hours later, the 23-year-old, who reportedly had no idea she was pregnant, gave birth to a baby girl.

Ms Guan and her boyfriend, Mr Wes Branch, live in Victoria, Canada, and were going to Japan, Canadian media reported.

The couple said that she did a pregnancy test a few months before she gave birth, but it came back negative.

JANUARY 2015

A 33-year-old Jordanian woman gave birth to a premature but healthy baby girl mid-flight while travelling to New York from Amman.

She was assisted by a nurse and a doctor who happened to be on the plane when she went into labour, four hours before landing in the Big Apple.

Airport and airline officials said the girl was born while the twin-jet Boeing Dreamliner was cruising over the Atlantic.